Bella Mafia

when i saw this movie when it was released as a mini series,i was elated to find that this italian mafia film had plenty of sustenance and not filler like many minis do.plot was strong,acting well done,and all the ladies were gorgeous.i'm ready for a second installment, like a book II perhaps.

What can I say! This movie is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. No matter how many times I see this movie I just love it more and more. Nastassja Kinski is absolutely delightful as Sofia. Vanessa Redgrave is a great matriarch and James Marsden is great at being the evil and insane Luca.

A JOY!

I was extremely disappointed with Bella Mafia. I was expecting a female version of the Godfather (although nothing can compare with the actual Godfather). Although the plot was the best thing about this movie, it was lukewarm at best. The passion (when Vito loses Sonny), orchestration of events (like when Michael takes out the five families), and epic feeling are all missing from this film. Vanessa Redgrave is wonderful, although only about three people from the entire cast could actually pull off sounding Sicilian. The directing was very weak, and the progression of the story was hurried (every five minutes, you were seeing text on the screen that said "Ten Years Later," "Five Years Later," etc. Overall, I was VERY disappointed with Bella Mafia...not that I expected anything more from a "T.V. Movie," but that it wasted so much potential.

It was the summon of a bevy of beauties, led by the superb Vanessa Redgrave that caught my attention. To have THEM as the mob bosses was both intriguing, sexy and a bit different.

The colour's turned up too high, you hardly ever feel that this family is connected and the accents are well dodgy. The blatant way murder plots are carried out so amateurishly is astounding - you don't really go into a court, visibly bribe the security, announce that the gun is under a seat and then show the thing! Yes, we know it's there, we're not blind or stupid! Then, when you shoot someone but miss and someone else finishes the job off for you, you DON'T get let off scott free.

Despite that, this Mafia tale for the Jilly Cooper parade (is that too harsh?) is not without its moments. Jennifer Tilly, to me, is always very watchable and Denis Farina as Redgrave's husband actually looks and plays the part. He's been in 'proper' Mafia flicks, you know!

I did lose interest a bit two-thirds in and lost count of the bodies and who was doing what to whom. I didn't really care. But for a winter's afternoon viewing as the wind and rain was howling, it provided very amiable entertainment indeed.

'Bella Mafia' was a TV mini-series that is available on VHS tape in two versions: one an apparently truncated version of 117 minutes on one tape while the preferable version is over two tapes and 180 minutes or three hours (but that includes seven minutes of previews of other films). One could think of this as a poor cousin to 'The Godfather,' but from the point of view of the women. These women are the wives or would be wife of the Luciano family. The men, father and sons, are all killed and it is up to the women to even the score. It has a nice look to it, but seems to overly draw from 'The Godfather' by using the name Michael and without compelling supporting character actors. Unfortunately for 'Bella Mafia' there are no equivalents of Al Pacino to be found here or anything resembling the presence of Marlon Brando. Hence, the movie is dominated by two presence's: Vanessa Redgrave as the matriarch of the family and Nastassja Kinski, one of her daughters-in-law. With the end of the first half of the movie, it is more than obvious what will eventually happen in the second half. The only question being what will be the details? In that sense, the movie unfolds very predictably and there is little suspense. It is a problem that the author of the novel, Lynda La Plante, never overcomes because she is also credited with the 'teleplay.' It is then a matter of appreciating the performances. All of the male actors seem to be weak and are easily overshadowed first by Vanessa Redgrave and then by the take-control of the film by Nastassja Kinski. Nastassja's performance is intelligent, as usual, and exceedingly even throughout at an elevated level. She is more than believable and has at least given a very good performance, covering lots of emotional range. Make no mistake, this is no 'Godfather' or anything close. Just never mess with Nastassja's Sophia character, otherwise one is likely to end up dead.